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Womanizing the 60 Blog

John Lewis: We may not have chosen the time, but the time has chosen us.

Today is International Woman’s Day. Not your typical Hallmark holiday but it seems to be an important day around the world. Some have also labeled the day “A Day Without A Woman” and I’m eager to see how businesses and schools may have been affected with women staying home today.

What exactly is International Woman’s Day? Originally called International Working Women’s Day, March 8 commemorates the movement for women’s rights. It’s a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

IWD has been observed since the early 1900s, a time of expansion in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. Today is a collective day of global celebration and a call for gender parity.

And hence, as a modern call for gender parity, we come to A Day Without A Woman. Organizers say it was intended in the same spirit of “love and liberation” that inspired women’s marches worldwide. But many are complaining that “A Day Without a Woman” may have left many women in a bind. The day aims to draw attention to inequities working women face compared to men, from wage disparity to harassment to job insecurity.

Several school districts across the country are closing to allow staff and teachers the chance to participate. While some people in those communities applauded district leadership for the show of solidarity, others criticized them for leaving working families scrambling to find childcare.

Striking is not the only way organizers are encouraging people to participate. People were encouraged to avoid shopping “with exceptions for small, women- and minority-owned businesses” or to wear red in solidarity.

Did you wear red? Were you even aware of IWD or A Day Without a Woman?